(More on RCEP here)
Implications of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on Universal Health Coverage
Knowledge Ecology International
26 January 2016
9 AM to 12:30 PM
Lotus Suite 3. 22nd Floor
Bangkok Convention Centre
Bangkok, Thailand
On Tuesday, 26 January 2016, Knowledge Ecology International will convene a panel on the Implications of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on Universal Health Coverage in Bangkok, Thailand for participants attending the Prince Mahidol Award Conference 2016 (PMAC 2016).
Background: International trade agreements have become an increasingly important yet controversial mechanism by which governments attempt to establish ground rules for a variety of policy fields. Where intellectual property is concerned, these trade agreements often pit the desires of the pharmaceutical and biotech industries against the needs of patients and the constraints of government resources. This is most apparent in the recent negotiation of the TPP, and in the continuing negotiations of the RCEP, and others. This meeting will focus on the implications of such agreements on universal health coverage.
Objectives: Detailed and substantive discussion of (1) specific mechanisms in trade agreements that threaten access to affordable medicines, such as patent linkage, expansions of patentable subject matter, restrictions on compulsory licensing, patent extensions, data and marketing exclusivity, limitations on remedies, and the investor-state dispute settlement system; (2) issues of transparency in the negotiation process; (3) a positive agenda for trade agreements that fosters the de-linkage of the costs of biomedical R&D from the final product price of health technologies.
Moderator: Thiru Balasubramaniam – Geneva Representative, Knowledge Ecology International
Part 1: The implication of the Trans Pacific Partnership on Universal Health Coverage
Speaker: Andrew Goldman – Counsel for Policy and Legal Affairs, Knowledge Ecology International
Speaker: Dr. Inthira Yamabhai – Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program
Part 2: The implications of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership on Universal Health Coverage
Speaker: Chalermsak Kittitrakul – Coordinator for Access to Medicines Campaign, AIDS Access Foundation
Part 3: Reconciling the policy incoherence between achieving the right to health and fulfilling trade obligations of the Trans Pacific Partnership and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Speaker: Shiba Phurailatpam – Director, Asia Pacific Network of People Living with HIV (APN +) and Member of the UN High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines